Skidmore Center Courses
Arts & Business

Students studying on the Arts & Business program will enroll 15-17 credits per semester. Each student is required to take a French language course (exact level will be determined by a French language placement test onsite) and the French History and Society course. Courses are taught in English, except for French language courses. Course numbers listed are not guaranteed and require department approval.

SPRING 2014Courses are subject to change

JPFF 195 Intensive Oral & Written French* (4 credits)This course will allow students to acquire the basic elements of spoken and written French. Students will learn how to express themselves in everyday life situations through a functional and communicative approach based on acquiring vocabulary, acquiring basics in grammar, and working on pronunciation. The ability to communicate and interact will be the major focus of this course. Rigorous weekly homework and active participation in class are expected from all students. Assignments will consist of studying and practicing dialogues, learning vocabulary, grammar and verbs, preparing oral and written activities, and reading documents. This course is designed for students who have no or very little knowledge in French.

* There is no language requirement for this program. Students with little or no French language experience are encouraged to apply.

JPFF 204 Low Intermediate French (4 credits)
This course is designed for intensive study of the French language, including grammatical structures in written and oral. From excerpts from literature, newspaper articles and other formal and informal documents, students will develop their vocabulary and knowledge of French culture and civilization. Students will conduct short written assignments. Oral skills will be developed from songs and audio documents and various videos. More specifically in terms of communication, the course will require students to talk about events, characterize people describe situations, inform and educate, place in time and space, make plans and assumptions, and express desire and obligation. Students will thus have to develop the four skills of the CEFR, namely understanding and written production, comprehension and oral production. This course is designed for students that have taken some French but not about FF 203.

JPFL 325 French History and Society (4 credits)
This course is a study of the institutions, customs, mentality, and priorities of the French people today. An attempt will be made to approach reality from the French point of view and to understand the causes of incomprehension and prejudice between our two peoples. Newspapers, magazines, visual documents, on-site visits and investigations will provide up-to-date information for discussions and for the preparation of students' dossiers on a variety of subjects. On-site visits include: The National Assembly and other monuments of historical and cultural interest in the Paris area. (Taught in English)

JPAH 351 Paris Art & Architecture from 1750 to the present
(3 credits)
This course deals with the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, and their legacies, which constitute most of what we see around us in Paris today by interweaving an investigation of the city's development with a history of French architecture. The study of major monuments will include a survey of the art of their period. We will study key monuments on-site. Knowledge of French history is helpful, and a good pair of walking shoes indispensable. This course provides a thorough knowledge of the history of the city and its architecture during the periods studied. (Taught in English)

JPEN 320 American Expatriate Writers (3 credits)
Students will investigate the works of American writers who chose to live in Paris for a considerable part of their creative lives and who were influenced in important ways by this city. American perceptions both of themselves and of Europeans are closely studied as are European attitudes toward Americans. Visits are conducted to places within the Paris regions specifically mentioned in the various works. Authors for particular study will include Henry James, Henry Miller, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, and Scott Fitzgerald. (Taught in English)

JPEN 363 Metaphysical Poetry (3 credits)
This course will focus on English poems of the 17th century Metaphysical school of poetry. Exploring poetical works by John Donne, Andrew Marvell, George Herbert, Henry Vaughan, as well as Donne's sermons, we will analyze the intellectual currents that these texts reflect. Individual poems will be examined within the historical, cultural, and scientific context that gave rise to their works. (Taught in English)